Mortuary Definition

môrcho͝o-ĕrē
mortuaries
noun
mortuaries
A place where dead bodies are kept before burial or cremation, as a morgue or funeral home.
Webster's New World
Wiktionary

(historical) A sort of ecclesiastical heriot, a customary gift claimed by, and due to, the minister of a parish on the death of a parishioner.

Wiktionary
adjective
Of or having to do with the burial of the dead.
Webster's New World
Of or connected with death.
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Mortuary

Noun

Singular:
mortuary
Plural:
mortuaries

Origin of Mortuary

  • Middle English mortuarie gift to a parish priest from the estate of the deceased, funeral service from Anglo-Norman from Latin mortuārium receptacle for dead things neuter of mortuārius of the dead from mortuus dead past participle of morī to die mer- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Anglo-Norman mortuarie (“gift to a parish priest from a deceased parishioner"), from Medieval Latin mortuārium (“receptacle for the dead; mortuary"), neuter form of mortuārius (“of or pertaining to the dead"), from Latin mortuus, perfect passive participle of morior (“I die").

    From Wiktionary

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